Pressure relief valve construction



Dec. 6, 1949 J. KMIECIK PRESSURE RELIEF VALVE CONSTRUCTION Filed June 22, 1948 Patented Dec. 6, 1949 PRESSURE RELIEF VALVE CON STRUCTION Leopold J. Kmiecik, Chicago, Ill., assignor to Me- Donnell & Miller, Inc., Chicago, 11]., a corporation of Delaware Application June 22, 1948, Serial No. 34,493

11 Claims. 1

This invention relates, generally, to valves, and it has particular relation to pressure relief valves.

Among the objects of this invention are: To construct a pressure relief valve which is accurate in operation, is unlikely to get out of order in use, and which can be manufactured economically; to construct the valve so that it will open with a pop, thereby increasing its capacity and preventing dripping action; to utilize liquid pressure and velocity to operate the valve with a pop; to avoid the use of bellows, diaphragms and the like in the valve; to enclose the valve operating and controlling mechanism in a liquid tighthousing; to open the valve manually; and to provide for operating the valve in response to change in pressure without requiring corresponding operation of the manual operating mechanism. 7

Other objects of this invention will, in part, be obvious and in part appear hereinafter.

This invention is disclosed in the embodiment thereof shown in the accompanying drawing and it comprises the features of construction, combination of elements and arrangement of parts which will be exemplified in the construction hereinafter set forth and the scope of the application which will be indicated in the appended claims.

For a more complete understanding of the nature and scope of this invention, reference can be had to the following detailed description, taken together with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a valve constructed in accordance with this invention, the valve being shown in the closed position;

' Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure 1, but showing the valve in the partially open position as a result of the application of excess pressure to the valve member;

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figures 1 and 2 but showing the valve in the open position;

Figure 4 is a perspective view of one of the links employed to provide a lost motion connection between the try out handle stem and the lower valve stem;

Figure 5 is a top plan view of the lower guide disc;

Figure 6 is a top plan view of the upper guide disc; and

Figure '7 is a detail sectional view taken along lief valve in which the present invention is em- 55 bodied. The valve I0 includes a valve body II that may be formed of brass. The valve body II, as shown, is provided with an internally threaded inlet opening I 2 which connects through a throat l3 with an integrally formed tubular section l4 that is threaded, as indicated at l5, into the lower end of a springhousing l6 which may be formed of cast iron. The spring housing l6 has an internally threaded outlet opening l1. It will be understood that the inlet and outlet openings l2 and I! may be connected into the piping system in a manner well understood by those skilled in the art. The upper end of the tubular section 14 provides a huddling chamber l8 which serves to trap the liquid and create the pop action of the valve in a manner to be described. At the lower end of the huddling chamber I8 there is a valve seat l9 which may be in the form of a ring insert of stainless steel. The opening through the valve seat l9 may be of the same diameter as that of the throat l3. A gasket 20 of suitable material is provided between the valve body I I and spring housing I6 at the base of the threaded section l5 to provide a fluid tight seal.

The opening through the valve seat I9 may be closed by a conical valve member 2| that may be formed of stainless steel. The valve member 2| has a shoulder 22 which bears against the lower end of a valve sleeve 23 that may be formed of brass. As shown, the valve member 2! is telescoped with the lower end of the valve sleeve 23.

The valve sleeve 23 is arranged to reciprocate vertically through the huddling chamber l8 in the tubular section I4 when suflicient pressure is applied to or removed from the underside of the conical valve member 2| to efiect such operation. In order to guide the valve sleeve 23 and thereby the conical valve member 2| in this movement, there is provided a lower guide disc 24 at the bottom of the huddling chamber l 8. The disc 24 may be formed of brass and, as shown in Figure 5, is provided with radially inwardly extending arms 25 which guide the valve sleeve 23 in its movement up and down while leaving a clear space therebetween to permit free flow of fluid through the huddling chamber l8. The lower guide disc 24 is staked in position in the tubular section [4. At the upper end of the huddling chamber l8 there is provided an upper guide disc 25 which is staked in place and is formed of brass like the lower guide disc 24. As shown more clearly in Figures 6 and 7 of the drawings, the upper guide disc 26 has an annular inner raised section 21 which provides a seat for a washer 28 that is loosely mounted on the valv sleeve 23 underneath a shoulder 29 at its upper end. The upper guide disc 26 has radially inwardly extending arms 30 which, like the arms 25 of the lower guide disc 24, serve to hold the valve sleeve 23 centrally in the huddling chamber IS. The spaces between the arms 38 permit the free flow of liquid into the spring housing l6 and out through the outlet opening l1.

As shown in the drawing, the conical valve member 2| has a central opening 33 into which the lower end 34 of a lower stem 35 projects. The lower end 34 extends into the conical valve member 2|, as shown in Figure 1, to a position that is slightly below the plane, indicated by the broken line 36, which extends through the plane of contact of the conical valve member 2| with the valve seat l9. This arrangement serves to seat the valve member 2| evenly around the valve seat IS. The lower stem 35 extends upwardly through the valve sleeve 23 and is secured thereto by a snap ring 31 which is located in correspondingly positioned grooves in the sleeve 23 and the lower stem 35.

The lower stem 35 has a shoulder 38 Just above the snap ring 31 against which the underside of a cupped washer 39 bears for receiving the lower end of a coil compression spring 40, the tension of which determines the pressure at which the valve member 2| will be lifted away from the valve seat l9. At its upper end the spring 40 fits into a cupped washer 4| that bears against the lower end of an adjusting screw 42 which is threaded into an opening 43 at the upper end of the spring housing l6. By adjusting the position of the screw 42 it is possible to change the tension of the spring 48 and thereby to change the pressure at which the valve member 2| will be lifted oil of the valve seat Is.

It is desirable to provide for manually lifting the valve member 2| oil. of the valve seat l9. At the same time, it is desirable that the automatic movement of the valve member 2| from the valve seat l9 shall not be transmitted to the manual operating mechanism which is employed for opening the valve. For this purpose a try out handle 46 is provided and it is fulcrumed at 41 and 48 on the spring housing IS. The try out handle 46 is pivoted at 49 to the upper end of a try out handle stem 58 which extends downwardly through the adjusting screw 42 and the cupped washer 4| toward the upper end of the lower stem 35. The stems 35 and 50 are interconnected by a pair of links one of which is shown in Figure 4. The links 5| may be secured to the upper end of the lower stem 35 by rivets 52. However, a sliding connection is provided with the lower end of the try out handle stem 58. For this purpose the links 5| are provided with slots 53 at their upper ends and a cotter pin 54 extends therethrough and through the lower end of the handle stem 50. This construction permits the valve member 2| to be lifted oii' of the valve seat l9 by operation of the try out handle 46. However, the movement of the valve member 2| upwardly in response to pressure applied to its under surface is not transmitted to the try out handle stem 50 or to the try out handle 46 because of the lost motion connection provided by the slots 53 between the stems 35 and 50.

In order to prevent leakage past the try out handle stem 50 at the upper end of the spring housing IS a pair of steel washers 55 is provided between which there is positioned a leather packing 56. This gasket construction fits snugly in the u per end of the spring housing l6 while permitting the try out handle stem 50 to be moved in response to movement of the try out handle 46.

In operation it will be understood that the position of the adjusting screw 42 is located so as to provide the desired tension in the coil compression spring 48. when the fluid pressure system connected to the inlet opening I2 is operating at a pressure which is below the pressure for which the spring 48 is set, it holds the valve member 2| against the upper edge of the valve seat IS. The washer 28, which fits loosely around the valve sleeve 23 at this time engages the annular inner raised section 21 of the upper guide disc 26 and closes the upper end of the huddling chamber l3. Assuming now that sufllcient pressure is applied to overcome the force exerted by the spring 48. the valve member 2| is raised 01! of the valve seat I! as shown in Figure 2 while the washer 28 remains in position on the annular inner raised section 21. This allows the fluid to pass through the opening in the valve seat l8 and to accumulate in the huddling chamber l8 where it exerts an upward pressure on the washer 28. When suflicient pressure is developed in the huddling chamber l8, the washer 28 is moved upwardly, as shown in Figure 3, with a pop and thus creates a larger opening for the discharge of the liquid at excess pressure into the spring housing l6 from which it may escape through the outlet opening l1. When sufficient fluid has been discharged in the manner just described to lower the pressure, the coil compression spring 40 is capable of moving the lower stem 35 downwardly, carrying with it the washer 28 and the valve member 2|, the latter seating again against the upper edge of the valve seat I9. The washer 28 falls under the influence of gravity into position against the annular inner raised section 21 of the upper guide disc 26.

Since certain changes can be made in the foregoing construction and different embodiments of the invention can be made without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, it is intended that all matter shown in the accompanying drawing and described hereinbei'ore shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

What is claimed as new is:

1. A pressure relief valve comprising, in combination, a valve housing having inlet and exhaust openings; a tubular section constituting an extension of said valve housing, extending upwardly into the same from said inlet opening, and providing a huddling chamber at its upper end; a valve seat at the lower end of said huddling chamber, a conical valve member for engaging said valve seat and arranged to be acted upon from underneath by fluid pressure transmitted through said inlet opening. a valve sleeve telescoped at its lower end with the upper end of said valve member and having a radially outwardly-extending shoulder at its upper end, guide discs secured near the bottom and top of said huddling chamber and having radially inwardly extending fingers acting to guide said valve sleeve in its vertical movement with the spaces therebetween permitting free fluid flow through said huddling chamber, a washer fitting loosely around said valve sleeve underneath said shoulder thereon and normally resting on the top guide disc to close the openings between its inwardly extending fingers, a valve stem secured to said sleeve with its lower end telescoped with said sleeve and said valve member and its upper end projecting above said sleeve, and a coil compression spring reacting between said valve housing and said valve stem to hold said valve member in engagement with said valve seat until a predetermined pressure is applied to its underside whereupon said valve seat, sleeve and valve stem are moved upwardly against the biasing force of said spring and pressure buids up in said huddling chamber while said washer remains in contact with said top guide disc until suflicient pressure is built up to move said washer upwardly with a pop against said shoulder and thereafter the fluid is discharged into said housing and out of the same through said exhaust opening.

2. The invention, as set forth in claim 1, wherein the top guide disc has an annular inner raised section that provides a seat engageable by the washer in its lowermost position.

3. The-invention, as set forth in claim 1, wherein the lower end of the valve stem extends into *the valve member and operatively engages the same below its plane of contact with the valve seat.

4. The invention, as set forth in claim 1, wherein manually operable try out means extend into the housing and is connected to the valve stem for lifting the same against the biasing force of the coil compression spring.

5. The invention, as set forth in claim 4, wherein lost motion means interconnects the manually operable try out means and the valve stem whereby said manually operable try out means is not operated when said valve stem is lifted as a result of excess pressure applied to the underside of the valve member.

6. A pressure relief valve comprising, in combination, a valve housing having inlet and exhaust openings, a tubular section constituting an extension of said valve housing, extending upwardly into the same from said inlet opening, and providing a huddling chamber at its upper end; a valve seat at the lower end of said huddling chamber, a conical valve member for engaging said valve seat and arranged to be acted upon from underneath by fluid pressure transmitted through said inlet opening, a valve sleeve telescoped at its lower end with the upper end of said valve member and having a radially outwardly extending shoulder at its upper end, guide discs secured near the bottom and top of said huddling chamber and having radially inwardly extending fingers acting to guide said valve sleeve in its vertical movement with the spaces therebetween permitting free fluid flow through said huddling chamber, a washer fitting loosely around said valve sleeve underneath said shoulder thereon and normally resting on the .top guide disc to close the openings between its inwardly extending fingers, a valve stem secured to said sleeve with its lower end telescoped with said sleeve and said valve member and its upper end project'- ing above said sleeve, a coil compression spring reacting between said valve housing and said valve stem to hold said valve member in engagement with said valve seat until a predetermined pressure is applied to its underside whereupon said valve seat, sleeve and valve stem are moved upwardly against the biasing force of said spring and pressure builds up in said huddling chamber while said washer remains in contact with said top guide disc until sufficient pressure is built up to move said washer upwardly with a pop against said shoulder permitting the fluid to discharge into said housing and out of the same through said exhaust opening, and manually operative try out means comprising a handle stem extending through the top of the housing in alignment with the valve stem underneath and connected to the latter for lifting the same 6 against the biasing force of the coil compression spring, and a try out handle pivoted to the upper end of said handle stem and fulcrumed on said housing.

7. The invention, as set forth in claim 6, wherein the stems are interconnected by a link secured rigidly at one end to one stem and having a vertical slot at the other end, and a detent is carried by the other stem and extends into said slot at one end whereby the handle stem remains stationary when the valve stem is lifted as a result of excess pressure applied to the underside of the valve member.

8. The invention, as set forth in claim 6, wherein packing is provided in the housing and the handle stem extends through it whereby leakage around the same is prevented.

haust openings, a tubular section constituting an extension of said valve housing, extending upwardly into the same from said inlet opening, and providing a huddling chamber at its upper end, a valve seat at the lower end of said huddling chamber, a valve member for engaging said valve seat and arranged to be acted upon from underneath by fluid pressure transmitted through said inlet opening, a valve sleeve telescoped at its lower end with the upper end of said valve member, guide disc means secured near the bottom and top of said huddling chamber and having radially inwardly extending fingers acting to guide said valve sleeve in its vertical movement with the spaces therebetween permitting free fluid flow through said huddling chamber, a washer fitting loosely around said valve sleeve and normally tending to close said huddling chamber, a valve stem secured to saidsleeve with its lower end telescoped with said sleeve and said valve member and its upper end projectinggabove said sleeve, and a coil compression spring reacting between said valve housing and said valve stem to hold said valve member in engagement with said valve seat until a predetermined pressure is applied to its underside whereupon said valve seat, sleeve and valve stem are moved upwardly against the biasing force of said spring and pressure builds up in said huddling chamber while said washer remains seated in its normally closed position until sufficient pressure is built up to move said washer upwardly with a pop to its open position and thereafter the fluid is discharged into said housing and out of the same through said exhaust opening.

11. A pressure relief valve comprising, in combination, a valve housing having inlet and exhaust openings, a tubular section constituting an extension of said valve housing, extending upwardly into the same from said inlet opening, and providing a huddling chamber at its upper end, a valve seat at the lower end of said huddling chamber, a valve member for engaging said valve seat and arranged to be acted upon from underneath by fluid pressure transmitted through said inlet opening, a valve sleeve telescoped at its lower end with the upper end of said valve member, guide disc means secured near the bottom and top of said huddling chamber and having radially inwardly extending fingers acting to guide said valve sleeve in its vertical movement with the spaces therebetween permitting free fluid flow through said huddling chamber. a washer mounted for relative axial movement of said valve sleeve and normally tending to close said huddling chamber, a valve stem secured to said sleeve with its lower end telescoped with said sleeve and said valve member and its upper end projecting above said sleeve, and a coil compression spring reacting between said valve housing and said valve stem to hold said valve member in engagement with said valve seat until a predetermined pressure is applied to its under- 8 i'orceof said spring and pressure builds up in said huddling chamber while said washer remains seated in its normally closed position until suflicient pressure is built up to move said washer upwardly with a pop to its open position and thereafter the fluid is discharged into said housing and out of the same through said exhaust opening.

LEOPOLD J. KMIECIK.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 287,131 Jarecki Oct; 23, 1883 461,149 F0881 Oct. 13, 1891 

